The number of opioid related overdoses in Windsor-Essex continues to climb.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says last year only three community alerts related to overdoses were issued.
He says so far this year, nine alerts have been issued.
Dr. Ahmed says he's concerned with the number of emergency department visits and emergency medical services calls in the local community due do substance use specifically opioids.
He says overdoses for this week (week 27) in Windsor-Essex have been historically low.
"The numbers reported by the hospital for this week in 2021 exceeds our expected thresholds," he says.
Dr. Ahmed says it's a scary time for many people in the community.
"These numbers represent people, families, friends and loved ones that are greatly impacted by the harmful affects of opioid," says Dr. Ahmed.
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He adds it appears the same individuals are overdosing.
"Sometimes it's hard especially in the beginning to tie up and see if these are the same people anecdotally I can say majority of them are the same people who we are seeing," he says.
As AM800 news reported on Thursday, the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy issued an alert after a spike in opioid related overdoses this week.
According to the alert, there have been 26 opioid-related emergency room visits over the past seven days.
18 of those visits were for an overdose of which 17 involved fentanyl.
The local health unit said the remaining eight non-overdose visits involved fentanyl use.